


can i be close to you?

by kylo_rad



Series: i'll give you the stars (The Force Awakens High School AU) [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, BB-8 is a corgi, Fluff, M/M, Rey is the best wingman ever
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-07
Updated: 2016-01-07
Packaged: 2018-05-12 08:38:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5659810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kylo_rad/pseuds/kylo_rad
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stormpilot High School AU</p><p>Finn has always wanted the courage to speak to Poe Dameron. Poe wishes he could find the nerve to speak to Finn. A silly idea ensues.</p>
            </blockquote>





	can i be close to you?

**Author's Note:**

> For my friend Amber, who I spent most of last night building this universe with.  
> This is the first time I've ever written a high school au, so excuse me if it's not a+.

It was no secret at Resistance High that the most popular boy in school was Poe Dameron. Finn knew this from the first moment he was transferred into the school, and it seemed everyone knew this fact as well. The combination of his charm, always perfectly tousled hair, and winning smile were infamous among the student body, and his intellect was famed among the teachers. Finn would often stare at Poe in class, wondered if someone so important could ever recognise someone so insignificant as him. His friend Rey, who would be seated at his side even if she had to intimidate some poor soul into swapping seats with her, didn’t understood everyone’s infatuation with the boy, and jabbed at Finn constantly if she caught him staring. Rey was Finn’s companion, as they both had lived in the same orphanage since they were little, until it was underfunded and they were both sent to an institution in an entirely different region. Their first day in a foreign school was full with unfamiliarity and, for Finn at least, the fear of new situations, was instantly sapped away when he saw Poe for the very first time.

Everyday, Poe would waltz into class just as the bell rang, hoisting his duffel bag over one shoulder, and take a seat with his friends. Finn, who never fit in with the rest of the class, would stare longingly at Poe, hoping that one day he would have the courage to speak to the amazingly beautiful boy without instantly dying of embarrassment. This day failed to come forth, and Finn began trying to forget his hopeless one-sided feelings.

At the beginning of another school day, Finn was the first to arrive in his class, a situation often confronted. He chose a seat in the middle of the class, placing his bag on the ground, and taking out a book from his bag to read in the time before class convened. At around 10 minutes until the bell would ring, Rey would show up hauling a surprisingly heavy backpack, sit herself right next to Finn, and proceed to fiddle around with things in her backpack. Finn once asked her why her bag was always filled with various forms of metallic junk, to which Rey would always give a wild and different answer. “I need it to repair my spaceship to return to my home planet” and “Principal Organa told me her assistant needed some secondhand robot parts for a friend” were Finn’s favourites. The headstrong, tough as nails Rey was, as some described, an acquired taste, but to Finn she was a kind friend who was always waiting to help others. 

The minutes ticked by, until the shrill ringing of the homeroom bell thrummed through the classroom. Poe, wearing his brown and red leather jacket and duffelbag in tow, entered the room, scanning for a seat. Finn always hoped one day he could have the chance to speak to him, and it seemed that whatever powers that be were either on his side, or reeling him up for a great punch line, as Poe Dameron walked towards him and took the empty seat smack bang in front of him.

\-----

It was no secret at Resistance High that the most popular boy in school was Poe Dameron, and Poe was perfectly content with this fact. In fact, it didn’t phase him in the slightest. What did in fact annoy him, was the beautiful quiet boy in his class since he joined the school two years ago. He knew that his name was Finn, but nothing else was ever made available to him. One might think from his appearance that Poe could’ve easily swaggered up to the boy and point-blank asked him all the questions bumbling inside his head, but alas, Poe was not that man. Despite the popularity, Poe deep-down had a massive, earth moving soft-spot for the quiet dark skinned boy in his class, one that would prevent him from ever making a move.  
However, after years of finely tuning how he would first approach Finn, this idea was by far the best he could come up with. After leaving home at roughly the same time as every morning, and driving to school in his pristine classic car, nicknamed the “Black One,” Poe made it to the classroom just after the bell ceased. Luckily for him, all of his planning had not been for nothing, as the seat directly in front of his target was empty.

Thanking every single star in the sky as he sat down, he placed his duffel bag on the ground beside him as usual, but slower and being much more careful for the contents. He unzipped it, pulling out his history textbook and notes, and trying not to anger the thing currently curled up inside his bag.

“Just behave for me, bud.” Poe whispered, before zipping the bag most of the way up. As their teacher entered the classroom to begin today’s lesson, Poe hoped that this crazy idea would work.

\----

The history teacher assigned to Finn’s class could certainly relate to the material she was teaching, being much older than the rest of the faculty at the school. Ms Maz Kanata, while certainly knowing her stuff, suffered from the sad case of having a quiet, soporific voice, much to the dismay of all her students. Though Finn was fascinated by the subject she taught, he often found his attention wandering in her classes. And now that Poe freaking Dameron was sitting in front of him, his attention was certainly a bit torn. For the first ten minutes of class, he actively tried to ignore Poe’s presence, honing in on Ms Kanata’s soft voice. The attempt however was soon rendered futile, as Finn began to stare at the rich chocolate brown locks on Poe’s head. 

Halfway through the lesson, he was trying as hard as he could not to burn a hole through the back of the other boy’s head, instead fixating his eyes straight onto the linoleum floor in front of him, where Poe’s duffel bag was sitting. As he was counting the many specs in the patterned flooring, he thought he saw the boy’s bag move slightly. A small, but still visible twitch coming from inside. Finn thought that it was just the fabric settling, or perhaps a shift in the floor. That was, until a nose poked out from the opening of the bag.

The bell rung, signalling the end of class, as everyone packed up their books and belongings, ready to move to the next class. Finn was not one for spur of the moment gestures, but he still found himself gently tapping on Poe’s shoulder. The boy turned around, locking eyes with him, a smile resting on his face. He could feel Rey watching this whole scene play out from the sidelines.

“Sorry, I don’t mean to bother you, but is there something in your bag?” Finn asked, voice trembling slightly. Poe’s smile grew across his face, sending a chill through Finn’s body.

“Oh, yeah. My dog hasn’t liked being alone by himself for these past few days.” Poe replied, reaching down to unzip the bag fully, revealing a smiling white and orange Corgi. Scooping the ball of fluff up, Poe hugged the dog close to him, it’s collar rattling slightly.

“What’s it’s name?” Finn said, smiling and holding his hand out, which the dog nuzzled into affectionately.

“BB-8.” Poe said proudly. “Named after one of my favourite characters from a movie. Best dog in the galaxy, this one.” Finn, patting BB-8, chuckled at the name. He almost didn’t hear the intonation of the next period bell through the room, as he looked to see Rey beckoning to him from the doorway.

“Crap, we’re gonna be late for our next classes. I’ll see you around?” Finn rushed to get up, slightly flustered by how taken he was with Poe, and walked towards the door.

“Damn it!” Poe exclaimed, hurriedly placing BB-8 back into his bag. The dog barked at Finn, chubby tail wagging, causing his owner to chuckle and Finn to stop to watch the little dog happily say goodbye. “It seems BB-8’s a bit taken with you. I’ll see you around, buddy.”

As Finn exited the classroom, the hallway packed with other students rushing off to their own respective rooms, Rey couldn’t hold back her laughter as she and a very flustered Finn walked off towards their next class.

\----

Walking home from school alone that day let Finn’s mind wander much more than it usually did. He thought of Poe’s infectious smile, his perfect hair, and the way his eyes locked with Finn’s when they spoke for the first time. Oh god, he was in deep. Trying to steer his mind away from the subject of his classmate, else he accidentally get run over by a car, he focused on the road in front of him, where up ahead was a familiar blob of orange and white fur, patiently sitting at the street corner. Upon seeing Finn, the dog bounced along towards him, barking happily. 

“BB-8?” Finn exclaimed, surprised by the dog’s presence. As the dog reached him, he crouched down to pat it’s head, while quickly darting his head around in search of the dog’s owner. He could not see Poe anywhere, in fact no one else was around. BB-8’s little tail was wagging playfully, the tag on his collar jangling as the corgi keened his head into Finn’s attention. “Where’s Poe? Hmm, where’s Poe, BB?”

Looking at BB-8’s tag, he saw an address listed, one not too far from where they currently were. Oh god, he thought, Am I actually going to go to Poe’s house? His nerves were running high at the thought of seeing the boy again, for the second time in one day. His mind was telling him run, but the ball of pure happiness and fluff below him told him that he had a task to perform. 

Deciding on his course of action, Finn scooped up the small dog, holding it in his arms carefully, and setting out to find the street listed on BB-8’s collar. The dog did not protest, wriggling slightly in Finn’s hold to make itself more comfortable. Walking through the streets of his hometown he knew like the back of his hand, he mentally psyched himself up to seeing Poe again. Turning the corner into the other boy’s street, BB-8 seemed to recognise where they both were, wriggling hurriedly to try and get out of Finn’s hold. Finn, knowing that the dog was smart and that there were no cars currently driving down the street, placed him on the sidewalk and let the roly poly dog barrel towards a large modern house towards them.

It was easily the nicest looking house on the block, a red brick with a lush front garden filled with different kinds of flowers and trees. Parked in the driveway was the beautiful car Poe drove to school every day, it’s sleek silver grey paint and orange stripe down the side begun to shine in the soft flood light that automatically turned on as BB-8 bolted to the door, jumping up and barking loudly. Finn, feeling uncomfortable with setting foot on the property, simply watched as the door swung open to reveal the subject of his affections, who visibly sighed with relief upon seeing the dog. Lowering himself, Poe hugged BB-8 with happiness, as the dog licked his face playfully. Knowing that he wasn’t needed, Finn turned back to leave, until Poe’s voice stopped him.

“Hey, Finn!” Poe yelled, Finn stopping in his place. How does he know my name? I don’t recall ever telling him, Finn thought. He turned back around to see the other boy approaching him, BB-8 following Poe at his feet happily. “I was wondering where this rascal went. BB likes to go wandering, thanks for bringing him back to me.”

Poe’s smile was warm and inviting, making Finn a little weak at the knees. Infected with the gladness seemingly seeping out of the boy, Finn simply smiled back and said, “Anyone would’ve done it, I’m just glad he’s home safe now.”

BB-8 circled around Finn’s legs, happily panting and wagging his tail at him. Poe chuckled softly at the motions of the dog. Looking at Finn he asked, “Do you wanna come in? I think I need to reward the man who brought my dog back in one piece.”

At that moment however, Finn recognised the steadily setting sun and realised that he was due back at the home very soon. “I don’t want to sound ungrateful, but I have to go. They’re expecting me back home.” Finn said, hints of a kind of sad nervousness in his voice.

Poe sighed, seeming let down. “No, no, that’s fine, bud. I’ll catch you tomorrow then?”

“Yeah, of course.” Finn smiled softly at him, and started to walk away. “Take care of that dog, Poe!”

As Finn walked back in the direction he came from, Poe thought about the events of today with a childish fondness he had not felt before. BB-8 barked at him to grab his attention, and Poe realised he been standing still in thought. 

“C’mon, BB-8. Let’s go back inside. You’ve had quite the adventure today.” The dog barked back in response, as the pair gleefully went inside.  
\------

The next day at school Finn was pleasantly surprised to see that in all the classes they shared, Poe would sit next to him, earning Finn many confused yet amused looks from Rey. They would chat in between classes, their attention only focused from each other. Rey would see that at lunch when Poe would talk to his other friends they would ask about his interactions with the quiet kid in their class. Poe would simply sigh wistfully, and playfully say “I’m allowed to hang out with other people beside you bunch of idiots.”

It was uncommon for Rey to show any interest in other people, but she found herself enraptured in watching the dialogues between her best friend and his massive crush. It was like watching a live action rom com, and at some points, the cheesiest will-they won’t-they back and forths Rey had ever encountered.

This was, of course, until these interactions had stretched out over a week. A whole week of underlying romantic tension, leaving Rey frustrated that Finn didn’t have the courage to act upon his own feelings.

“It’s not like that, Rey.” Finn told her one night at dinner at the home.

“Bull crap, Finn. I’ve seen the way you both look at each other. It’s hopeless - you’re hopeless.” She deadpanned. Finn sighed and got up to leave, face blushing heavily, leaving Rey to chuckle at his facial overreactions.

After one long, tiresome day of watching those two idiots circle around each other, Rey walked home by herself. She enjoyed being alone, and the relative quietness of the afternoon streets relaxed her. This quietness, which was brought down by a playful barking in front of her. An idea came to mind.

“Sorry, Finn...” She muttered to herself, picking up the playful dog in front of her. “Someone’s gotta step in.”

\-----

Finn enjoyed his late night runs. Venturing out in the dead hours of the night, where most people were already at home or in bed, gave a sense of peace to his unquiet mind. Most nights after dinner he would don his plain running gear of shorts and a black t-shirt, tye up the lace on his worn out runners and slip his old brick phone the home supplied him in his pocket, and eagerly set out onto the streets surrounding the children’s home. More often these days, he would purposefully run past the street where Poe lived, hoping to catch a glimpse of him. This attempt was always futile, as he never saw him on the pavement, and instead Finn simply ran past the street, never entering.

Tonight however, was a different story. It was past 10 o’clock when he hit the pavement, street lights shining up above him, and a chill in the air invigorated his pace. Running in the same lap he’d done since he arrived in the area, he jogged in silence as he looked at all the warmly lit houses lining the streets, families together. In these moments, Finn would feel a slight pull on his heartstrings, the thought of him without a true family often flooding his mind. He had Rey, who was like a sister to him, but his lack of blood relations often lead him to think of what a family would be like. A family built together with the people he loved...

His thoughts were cut short when he saw another man jogging towards him, wearing a familiar tan and red leather jacket. Poe slowed up when he realised who was in front of him, urgence framing his face.

“Finn! Oh god, can you help me? BB-8’s wandered off again, I can’t find him anywhere.” Poe pleaded, worry clouding his eyes.

Finn, ever the one to help, eagerly replied, “Yes, of course I can. Where do you think he went?”

“I’m not sure...” Poe ran a hand through his hair, looking around frantically. “I don’t let him out after dark, usually if he’s not home when I get back from school he turns up before dinner. But I have no idea where he’s gone!”

Finn had never seen Poe with such intense emotions, it made him all the more willing to help the distressed boy. “Okay. What about the street to school? Have you checked there?”

“Yes... He might’ve even walked to Resistance High, he likes the grass on the oval there.” Poe thought through, one hand posed contemplatively on his chin. “We should check it out, do you mind coming?”

“Of course I don’t mind, Poe.” Finn smiled at him, placing a hand on the other boy’s shoulder in an effort to calm him down. Finn’s heart, still racing from jogging, seemed to beat even faster in this short moment, before the pair ran off in the direction of school.

They yelled out most of the way, frantic calls of “BB-8” echoing through the empty night time streets. As they crested the hill up to the school, they climbed the tall fence barricading the oval, Poe gracefully making it over like he’d done it a thousand times before, and Finn clumsily almost falling on top of the other boy. They circled the oval and surrounding outside areas, yelling frantically for the small dog.

On their fifth walk around, Poe stopped mid step, as Finn walked forward until realising he was not at his side. Turning around, Finn saw Poe’s face fallen and upset, not a natural expression for the boy.

“Maybe he doesn’t want to be found. Maybe he’s run away for good.” His voice came out gravelly and much softer than Finn had ever heard it before. “It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have let him.”

Finn walked closer to Poe, putting his hands on his shoulders, and looked him straight in the eye. “Poe, don’t blame yourself. It’s not your fault BB-8’s lost. We’ll find him, I can feel it.”  
He watched Poe’s expression as he took in Finn’s words. “You think?”

Finn had never been this close to another before, close enough to feel their breath against his skin. If he wasn’t so dead set on helping Poe, his brain would have most likely died from the shock of being this close to him, he was that far gone. But in this moment, all Finn wanted to do was to help calm Poe, and distract him from the terror of his missing dog. He briefly thought that this might have been the stupidest idea in the history of time, but then passed it over quickly, as he inched his face closer to Poe’s.

“I know that BB-8 couldn’t leave you by yourself. No one could.” He said softly. Then Poe was lunging forward, and suddenly they were kissing. A clumsy excuse for a kiss, yes, but a passionate and emotion filled gesture to which Finn was more than happy to receive. His heart raced crazily in his chest as they broke apart, looking into each other’s eyes for a sign of the thoughts that were racing through both of their heads.

This moment was broken by the repeated chime of Finn’s cell phone in his pocket, and then Poe’s following in succession. Backing away only slightly from each other, they both pulled out their phones and saw two messages from Rey.

“BB-8 is with me. Someone had to bypass the romantic tensions between the two of you.”  
Attached with a selfie of Rey and BB-8 in her room. Poe exhaled in relief as he brought Finn into a warm hug, quietly saying, “Oh, thank God! He’s alright.”

Finn, more than happy to reciprocate the hug, wrapped his arms tightly around the other boy, all the while apologising. “Rey is such an idiot, I’m sorry, it’s completely my fault.”

“Hey-” Poe started, pulling away from Finn slightly, a comforting smile on his face. “Don’t blame yourself, Finn. Besides, we did get one good thing out of this, right?”

And as his lips touched Finn’s, for just one moment, everything in the world seemed right.

**Author's Note:**

> Tell me if you want me to write more in this AU. Thanks a bunch for reading!


End file.
